


Let's Go In The Garden

by kalliblast



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Short Story, au idea i had where steven finds spinel first, just a dumb idea i had before going to bed one night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2020-12-22 19:24:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21081839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalliblast/pseuds/kalliblast
Summary: Steven, stressed out and tired, takes Pearl up on her offer for a relaxing trip to an old garden.





	1. You'll Find Something Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo heyo so this is what i was doing instead of writing my other fics. sorry.  
This is going to be released into 2 or 3 parts, depending on how long the second part ends up being when im done writing it.  
Thank you for checking it out, enjoy!

It’s been a couple of years since the liberation of Homeworld and the reunion of the Diamonds. Steven has had it rough, but over those last few years, things calmed down a lot. Life can’t always be so calm though.  


Trying to connect Earth and Homeworld was difficult, but Steven had a little idea. They called it Little Homeworld, a mini version of the giant planet that gems lived on. Many of the gems that were once corrupted needed a place to stay, somewhere new and fresh but also comfortable and familiar. The stress of making Little Homeworld as accurate and as perfect as possible was not only stressing out Steven, but also Bismuth, Peridot, and Lapis as well.  


And on top of that, Steven had some business to attend to with the Diamonds. To welcome everyone into the new era, he was going to be giving a huge speech to the universe. Steven was ecstatic, this was really it! Finally the whole universe will be able to live in peace and harmony. This really is the best timeline.  


But! It’s! So! Stressful!  


Steven found himself in many sleepless nights the last few days before the speech, making him sport brand new bags under his eyes. Ah, the joys of being a young adult.  


After a few hours of work, helping the crew out with Little Homeworld, and running a few errands for his dad, Steven was tired. That coupled with his messed up sleeping schedule only made it worse. He told everyone he was going to go lay down for a little bit, even if he didn’t fall asleep he really needed the rest. Everyone understood, though. Humans need sleep, unlike gems, and sadly Steven’s human half caused him to become tired. Sometimes he thought about how cool it would be to be just a tiny bit more “gem,” not being required to rest would be cool, sometimes, but he doesn’t think he’ll be able to give up eating the delicious fry bits…  


It was quiet as he laid on the couch in his house and thought about random things while drifting off into a state between sleep and consciousness.  


That is, until someone excitedly burst through the door, completing their grand entrance with a loud “Steeeveeen!” From the sound of it, it was Pearl. Steven, if he wasn’t so damn nice, would have told her to go away, but he figured to save the teenage angst and talk to Pearl for a few minutes. Then he can finally rest. He doesn’t want to upset her, anyway.  


He sat up on the couch and rubbed his eyes to adjust to the small amount of light that filtered in through the curtains. “Yeah, Pearl?”  


She gave him a big smile, doubling down on her excited mood. “I’m glad you’re awake, I just remembered something wonderful.” Her pause was unnecessary, but she wanted to build up excitement. Steven humored her, “What would that be, Pearl?” He yawned and stretched his arms out behind his head. He was only laying down for a few minutes, but his body felt like he had taken a shitty 2 hour nap. Probably exhaustion.  


“A garden! Your mother was always fascinated by life- even before Earth, it was plant life- she had many gardens across the universe.”  


Steven visibly flinched at the mention of his mom. Again, he didn’t want to be rude to Pearl. He liked talking to her. But his mother was, is, and probably always will be a sore subject.  


As much as the pair can say their over Pink, it’s a deep wound that keeps reopening. As of late, it was cleaned up pretty well. But who knows if something else could happen? That’s one of the thoughts that kept Steven awake at night. Attributing to the bags.  


Pearl noticed his reaction, it was rather obvious. She took a seat next to Steven on the couch and quieted her voice to a more calm tone. Pearl, for some reason, really wanted to go to this garden with Steven. She wouldn’t ever force him to if he was uncomfortable, but she was determined to try to get him to accompany her.  


“We know she’s done some awful things… But we’ve been fixing that, right?” Steven moved his eyes from gazing at the floor to looking at Pearl. She was right. Pink was a… well, a big bitch. She’s left some pretty big messes for him and the other gems to clean up, it both confused and pissed Steven off. But, he’s good at cleaning. In the metaphorical “fixing his mother’s mistakes” way, not the “doing the dishes, mopping the floor” way. He hates chores (But does them because he would feel terrible leaving big jobs for the gems or his dad to clean).  


Pearl continued, “And, you know… It would be nice to um… “hang out” again. Like we used to. Like an… adventure?” Ah, that’s it. She misses their mother/son bonding time. What’s a better type of bonding than bonding over trauma while looking at pretty flowers? Steven couldn’t think of anything.  


Steven can admit, he’s gotten a bit more distant as he got older. Maybe it’s teenage angst, maybe it’s the feeling of an entire civilizations future being put into his hands. Either way, he did miss hanging out with Pearl one-on-one. He missed their little adventures, silly things like the “Secret Team” and stuff. Fun. He’s just been so stressed, he’s starting to miss the pointless, 13 year old fun. Less responsibilities. Waayyy less responsibilities. And less shaving. Waayyy less shaving. And! A change of scenery might be nice. Since the start of the construction of Little Homeworld, among other gem related activities, Steven’s been put into a routine. He hasn’t been back to space a while either, and he kinda misses it. He was supposed to be going to visit the Diamonds and give his speech for the first time in two years, but it would be nice to go back to space before that, in a less anxiety inducing part of it.  


“I wouldn’t mind adventuring with you. But… do you know if any plants would even still be alive? Who would have been taking care of the garden?”  


“Well I would assume not. I haven’t seen this particular one in over 6,000 years. It wouldn’t surprise me if the whole field was dead.” Wow, how reckless of her. To leave three life times of gardens unattended and dying. Wouldn’t have expected anything less from Pink. Steven could almost laugh.  


Pearl placed her hand in front of her gem and it glowed. She pulled out a shovel and a pair of gloves, giving Steven another optimistic smile. “Well, I got these… Just in case?” Steven gave her a small laugh, “Yeah, those will be helpful. But let's assess the damages first. We might need more help if it’s as bad as I think it might be.” The excited twinkle in Pearl’s eyes never left. She gave Steven a bear hug, put the gardening tools back in her gem, and then jumped over to the warp pad.  


“I’ll wait here!” She called out from the other side of the house, making Steven laugh again. Pearl’s new found excitement for anything only made him more excited.  


They’d both like to think that they’ve gotten better at dealing with all the Pink Diamond shit, but it’s hard sometimes. It was better for them to deal with it together rather than alone, that’s another reason Pearl called on Steven to spend the afternoon with her. Visiting the garden would hit all the stops: bonding and hanging out, activity rather than being cooped up, seeing space, and Pearl would get to be around more things that reminded her of Pink… That’s probably unhealthy.  


But hey! It wasn’t as bad as it used to be.  


And it’s only a garden, how “triggering” can it get?


	2. Right There Where You Left It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven finds Spinel and tries to talk to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I ended up starting a 3rd chapter as a resolve kind of thing. It won't be too long I don't think but I do plan on posting it tonight so everything will kind of tie up and not be weird. Meanwhile, enjoy chapter 2: electric boogaloo.

Steven decided that this gardening adventure would also be a perfect time for a picnic, so he made sure to pack his backpack accordingly. Blanket, snacks, and some candy, nothing big. Pearl still didn’t quite enjoy eating, but Steven was hungry from all the hard work he did today, so it wouldn’t go to waste.   


When he was ready, he jumped up onto the warp with Pearl, opting to let her do the warping since he didn’t really know where they were going. The warp stream opened and they were off. Within only a few seconds, the two were on a completely different planet, thousands of miles away from Earth.   


Looking around, Steven noticed how dead the planet looked. It didn’t seem to be much of a planet outside of the confines of the garden. But then again… There wasn’t much going on inside the bubble either.   


What’s left of this garden is completely dead. In fact, the only things standing were a bunch of pink pillars, wrapped up with withered vines with dead flowers. Every flower, grass, and vine was dead. Steven noticed a decently sized pink fountain in the center of it all, not running, and wondered if it worked the same as the fountain back on Earth.  


But then Steven saw something that sent a shiver up his spine. A figure, blacked out by the darkness of space and lack of light, standing still in the distance. Steven could barely see them, but it looked like their back was turned. Steven could only assume it was a Gem. Besides, how could any other humans get out here?  


He pointed in the direction of this mysterious, presumed gem, making sure his movements were slow and stiff so they wouldn’t notice. He leaned towards Pearl, who was looking off to the left as a group of dead roses, and whispered,  
“Pearl… who is that?”  


Said gem looked away from her fixation on the roses and followed Steven’s finger. The second she spotted the silhouette, her memory did back flips trying to remember who it was. Her hand went over her mouth in surprise. Her mind was telling her that it can’t be, but she was smarter than that. It obviously was…  


“Spinel…”  


She hadn’t seen her since before the war, and that was over 6,000 years ago. Is this where she was the whole time? Did she actually never leave the garden…?  


“So then she is a gem. Is she dangerous?” Steven got excited at the idea of meeting a new type of gem, but decided to stay cautious. He still hasn’t got a chance to meet all of them, so he was unsure if a ‘Spinel’ could be a threat.  


“She… shouldn’t be. But I haven’t seen her in so long. I don’t even know if she knows about the war.” Pearl didn’t associate with Spinel as often as Pink once did, but she does remember a time when Pink just stopped coming here. Is this what she did? Did she leave this gem all alone in a dying garden? Pearl felt herself getting a little… angry.  


“So then why don’t we go introduce ourselves? Fill her in on the state of the universe?”  


Pearl nodded, “Yes I suppose so… but still be cautious. Just in case.” Steven gave her a smile with a bonus thumbs up, “I can handle myself, Pearl. But yeah, good idea.”  


The two made their way to the center, Steven going first with Pearl following closely behind him. There was a long pause as Steven stood in a short way behind the Gem, his brain going over what to say. Surprisingly, she hadn’t even noticed Steven until he reached out and tapped her shoulder.  


Spinel yelped and jumped, surprised at first, but then whipped around and tackled Steven to the ground, who also yelped in response. Pearl quickly retrieved her spear, taking a fighting stance and aiming it at the pink gem.  


“Pink~! You came back! I can’t- I can’t believe it-!”  


Her smile was wide as she spoke, her head bouncing up to look at Steven in the eyes. He was sweating, at first from the surprise hug but now even more at the mention of his mom. He saw her smile flip into a frown, her eyes widening as if she was going to cry.  


“You’re not- Pink-”  


Well, technically…  


Before Steven could get a chance to speak or explain himself, the gem burst into tears. Steven took a second to sit up, letting Spinel sit down in front of him. He pulled her into a comforting hug, making sure not to squeeze too hard since her gem is on her chest. Spinel stayed completely still. Pearl put her spear away, but still stood her guard just in case.  


“I’m sorry, Spinel. She’s gone…” 

A million emotions rushed through Spinel’s head at once. _ Heartbreak, betrayal, loneliness, anger… _

The words echoed in her head, “She’s gone.”   


_ Forever? But she said she’d come back- _

Steven wanted to try his best to help _ but what do you say? _ She obviously has no idea about Pink and the rebellion and Steven was sure she wouldn’t react well to hearing all that. He held onto the crying Gem, but she still didn’t move. She sat motionless in his arms, sobbing.  


After a couple minutes, she finally spoke again.  


“W-what happened? To Pink- She said s-she’d be back-”  


Steven sighed. This was going to be hard. He sat down in front of Spinel, taking a minute to collect his thoughts and explain it in a way that wouldn't upset her.  


“She… ran away. And hurt a lot of people. But now she’s uh…. Me? But not really- I’m really sorry but she’s just… gone. She can’t come back. I hope that makes sense-” He started to go into a few more details, touching on the “shattering” and Rose and the rebellion. He tried to keep it light, hoping Spinel would understand that Pink isn’t the same diamond she once knew. Like, at all. 

As she soaked all this information in, Spinel’s gem shifted, slowly rotating from a heart to a spade. 


	3. Lying Upside Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven helps Spinel find a new home, with new friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter, hope you like it. Sorry if it's a bit short but I tried to give it a nice ending.

Spinel’s sadness turned to anger. She didn’t know who she should be angry at, but God damn it was she angry. Once Steven stopped talking, her fists grew and her arms stretched out, flying up and then slamming on the rocky ground near Steven. Pearl jumped into action again, holding her spear out and leaping in front of Steven to protect him from any falling rubble, or if Spinel decides to attack him directly.  


Finally seeing her, Spinel only gets more upset.  


“You’re Pink’s pearl! She… She took you! And not me?!”  


She curls up onto the floor again, more tears streaming down her face.  


_ Pink’s a liar. A horrible friend. She played me like a game of tag. And now she’s ** dead. ** _   


The weight of it hit her again and she doubled over, crying harder. She IS gone forever.  


Spinel crawled over to Steven, sitting on her knees, begging, “Can’t you show me her one last time?”  


Steven frowned, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”  


Spinel grabbed onto Steven’s legs, like a lost child, and began to cry again. It hurts.  


Steven looked panicked, looking up at Pearl, mouthing ‘what should I do.’ Pearl put her weapon away once more and shrugged. She gave him a supportive thumbs up and Steven rolled his eyes.  


“I’m so… lost.”  


Spinel’s words hit Steven in the heart. She’s just been stuck here, thinking her friend would come back, and now that she knows she won’t, she’s confused. What does she do now? Where does she go?  


And then Steven had an idea.  


He put a hand on Spinel’s shoulder and used the other to grab her hand, helping her up from the floor and getting her to let go of his legs.  


Steven gave her a smile, meant to be reassuring but it showed all of his tiredness and worry. “You could come back to Earth, you know. We’re always accepting new gems who need a home.” Pearl gave Steven a side look, a look that read ‘Do you really think that this is a good idea’ but Steven ignored it. Helping a friend is always a good idea.  


But Spinel seemed a bit hesitant, too.  


“But I don’t know anything about Earth…” She’s only heard about it from Pink, all those years ago, that it was going to be her first colony. Spinel didn’t even think still Earth existed until Steven told her what had happened.  


“I could show you everything there is to know! Right now, we’re working on making a Homeworld away from Homeworld… You’ve been to Homeworld, right?”  


Spinel lets out a little giggle, “Of course I have!”  


Steven let out a laugh of his own, “Then? It’ll be good to get away from this dusty garden. You can make new friends- ones who will truly care.”  


At the mention of making new friends, Spinel lit up, literally springing to life and skipping around Steven in joy.  


“Then what are we waiting for?!” She clapped, dancing around Steven. He sighed, relieved that he was able to calm her down and help her figure out where to go next.  


Steven led Spinel to the warp pad, Pearl following behind. As nervous as Pearl was, she knew Steven would be able to help.  


Steven held Spinel’s hand while on the warp, trying to calm her nerves. Of course she would be nervous, she’s about to have a sensory overload.  


When they got home, Garnet was the only one there. She saw Steven and Pearl from the living room, waving hello to them and saying “good morning.” When she noticed the new Gem, she stopped and waited for Steven to make his way over to her.  


“Steven? Who's your new friend?”  


Steven smiled, but before he could introduce Spinel, she let go of his hand and gave Garnet a huge bow.  


“The name’s Spinel, madame!” She let out a giggle after she put her head back up.  


Garnet let out a quiet laugh, too, giving Steven a thumbs up. “Well then, Spinel, I’m guessing you’re here to see Little Homeword?” Spinel nodded excitedly at this.  


“Yeah, we are actually! Any idea on the progress of it, Garnet?” Steven gave her a wink, and Garnet adjusted her glasses before responding, “They should be done soon. Maybe you and Spinel could go give them a hand?” Steven nodded and Spinel clapped, excited to get to see her new home and meet more new gems.  


She’s only been on Earth for a few minutes and it already felt more warm and homey than any other place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably got some things wrong or made it OOC and I'm sorry about that.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the song Everything Stays by Rebecca Sugar, from Adventure Time. I suggest you check it out it's a really nice song.  
Feedback is greatly appreciated!


End file.
